Peters Township company brightens Thanksgiving
Ashley Bennett, administrative assistant, loads bags of goodies at the Sunny Days In-Home Care office in Peters Township.
Evelyn and David Ellenwood are the owners of Sunny Days In-Home Care.
Twenty people will have a sunnier Turkey Day, thanks to the folks at Sunny Days In-Home Care.
“We like to pride ourselves in taking care of the people we have as clients,” David Ellenwood said. He owns the Peters Township-based service provider with his wife, Evelyn. “So one of the things we came up with, an idea, was: What can we do for Thanksgiving for people who are out there?”
The answer: “Ten of our managers each picked two people from their territories that felt like they could benefit from us providing a Thanksgiving meal for them,” he said as staff members packed bags full of goodies Nov. 18 in anticipation of the holiday.
The recipients will have the opportunity to enjoy the traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes and vegetables, and it’s not just a matter of food being dropped off at their doors.
“We decided we’re going to not only provide a meal, but we’re going to cook it for them, whether it’s a caregiver or manager, and spend some time with them,” Ellenwood said. “We’re going to get some pictures, just have a nice celebration for our clients.”
The Thanksgiving treat is nothing new for Sunny Days.
“We’ve done things like this all along. We find people who are in need, and we try to help out,” Ellenwood explained.
With experience in marketing for home-healthcare companies, he decided to enter the market with his own business.
“I watched and saw how they did things, and just felt like there were a lot of things missing,” he said. “A lot of these companies were corporates from other parts of the country, and trying to come in and do business here just didn’t work well.”
Sunny Days went into operation in February 2011, with Ellenwood devoting his efforts to growing the business while he wife continued at her full-time job.
“About nine months in, I said, ‘Ev, you’ve got to come home. I need you to work at home. I can’t do this alone anymore,'” he recalled. “I was going 24/7.”
Growth has continued, with Sunny Days now serving more than 200 clients, with the company employing 250, including 10 managers and a staff of eight at the office on Center Church Road.
“We’re actually in the process now of selling franchises for our business,” Ellenwood said. “We’re starting that in January.”
By then, Sunny Days will have made a lot of people smile on Thanksgiving and a certain holiday the following month:
“We’re going to do a similar thing at Christmas.”